Six arrested for illegal invoice business

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội police on December 14 announced they have arrested six people for allegedly selling fraudulent VAT invoices worth nearly VNĐ600 billion (US$26.6 million).

Nguyễn Thị Đào, 35, residing in Thanh Trì District, was the gang leader, while her underlings were aged between 20 and 26 years.

According to the police, Đào made deals with a 32-year-old woman with the same name to buy 17 companies operating at a loss in 2017. Sold for VNĐ50 million each, these companies became an illegal source of VAT invoices for the older woman.

Companies wanting to purchase VAT invoices could contact the older Đào directly or through brokers.

During searches of houses at four different locations, the police found 76 filled invoice books, another 92 blank books and several documents and stamps of the ghost companies.

The gang sold 3,500 invoices through those companies before it was busted, the police said. They were investigating if there were more ghost companies involved in the case. — VNS